This week, a Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) work crew began cleaning up accumulated marine debris that washed ashore on Willapa Bay beaches this summer.

The 4-member crew focused its removal efforts on a stretch of beach west of Tokeland, an area between Bruceport County Park and the DNR-managed Bone River Natural Area Preserve on the east side of the bay.

So far, the crew has removed 62 large garbage bags full of debris including pieces of Styrofoam and plastic bottles with Asian writing on them. It is unknown, however, if any of the debris is tied to the March 11, 2011, Japan tsunami that claimed near 20,000 lives and destroyed countless homes and structures.